The la Madre Mountains Wilderness is highly scenic offering excellent views of classic basin and range formations located approximately 12 miles west of Las Vegas. the most prominent feature is the La Madre Mountain Range, a rugged complex of gray carbonate ridges and towering vertical cliffs that form the northern viewscape at Red Rock Canyon National conservation Area and are nationally and internationally recognized technical rock climbing areas. Turtlehead Mountain is a prominent pear on the southeastern portion of the wilderness offering a short hike at lower elevations.

This is one of the largest individual wilderness areas (47,180 acres) in Southern Nevada and provides habitat for desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, and bats. There is also a diverse population of birds and reptiles. The large variation in elevation (6,000 feet) provides for a variety of plant communities, ranging from South Mohave Desert shrub, to juniper-pinion woodland, to subalpine communities of white fir and ponderosa pine.

Photo at right: Brownstone Basin in the La Madre Wilderness Area

Explore the LaMadre Wilderness in more detail by following these links:

U.S. Forest Service, La Madre Mountain Wilderness

Bureau of Land Management, La Madre Mountain Wilderness

Wilderness.net, La Madre Mountain Wilderness

Friends of Nevada Wilderness, La Madre Mountain Wilderness

Southern Nevada Wilderness Areas, La Madre Mountain Wilderness

 

Prehistoric sites occur throughout the area and include pictographs and petroglyphs, agave roasting pits and rockshelters. Brownstone Canyon is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Photo at left: Ponderosa pine in the La Madre Mountain Wilderness